Tightropes emerge as a motif throughout the book, describing the narrow path that many working-class people must walk to avoid falling into ruin—a path that is too precarious for many people to follow. The authors highlight people’s individual experiences to show how walking this line—which some researchers call the “success sequence”: “graduate from high school, get a full-time job and marry before having children” (23)—is in fact nearly impossible for many people, given the circumstances in which they live.

This tightrope is largely invisible to more affluent Americans, for whom the path through life is broad and forgiving of missteps. This distinction reflects the fact that most of the economic gains in the latter half of the 20th and first decade of the 21st centuries have gone to the wealthy. This situation in turn compounds the suffering of those living in poverty, as wealthy Americans, ignorant or indifferent to the challenges faced by working-class citizens, promote policies that are punitive and cruel to the poor. This process is also facilitated by cultural attitudes that view poverty as a moral failing, without acknowledging the tightrope that people in poverty are trying to walk—people like Drew Goff, the son of a friend of the authors, who struggled with addiction and incarceration stemming from his own deprived upbringing.